Folly Beach
by Dorothea Benton Frank
William Morrow 2011
I often wonder about the real story behind artistic success. In this sense, art could be painting, singing, music, writing, or whatever. Is the person popularly given credit for the work in question actually responsible for the composition? Or is it a collage of skills blended together and had to be the named artist. Shakespeare is a fine example, as there has always been question about whether one man could have written all of the plays and other dramatic works bearing his name.
Folly Beach is a story about what might have been the reality behind the authorship of Porgy & Bess, the fascinating Broadway play featuring the music of George Gershwin and the composition of DuBose Howard. His wife Dorothy played an ambiguous role as well. Folly Beach explores whether Dorothy played a larger role in the composition than she is generally given credit for performing. The story is told partially from the viewpoint of Dorothy in a play telling her own story, having risen from the grave to do so.
The main story is explored from the viewpoint of the niece of a woman who acquired the home in which the Howards allegedly composed their work. Cate was living a life of luxury until her husband hung himself over her prized piano, revealing his own bankruptcy, multiple affairs, and child out of wedlock. She is penniless and returns to the low country, coastal area of South Carolina populated with picturesque offshore islands. She and her sister Patti had been raised there by an Aunt, Aunt Daisey, and her long term partner Ella.
With a grubstake from Aunt Daisey and Ella, and her sister, Cate begins a new life living in the home of the Howards, including the desk where they wrote. She meets and falls in love with a sort of single college professor who encourages her to examine her feelings about the role of Dorothy Howard in the local archives. Amidst intense physical healing, he also suggests that she compose her own play about Dorothy (which is the additional viewpoint in the story).
Folly Beach is a lovely story of family, love, and redemption. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, feeling that Ella was making a mouth-watering pecan pie for me as well as for the characters in the story. Cate’s daughter, Sara, disapproves of her mother’s new love, only to become a pivotal element of Cate’s new composition.
We all wonder about going home. Is it possible? Can I? What would I find? Cate did and found her life, once again, probably to be followed by her sister.
Dorothea Benton Clark is a talented storyteller, making the characters seem like old friends. My sweetheart is fond of saying that “if I can’t get into the characters, I put the book down.” She did not put down Folly Beach , neither did I, and neither will you.
Warms, Cym
*Thank you Shawn Nicholls & Chelsey Emmelhainz for sending me this book to review*
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